The pinnacle of several million players

The 'Gran Turismo World Series' is a global championship to determine the very best Gran Turismo players. The best drivers from around the world will gather to answer the question, "Who is the fastest and who has the endurance to become the champion?"

Out of millions of Gran Turismo players from all around the world, the title of 'champion' will be awarded to only one. The competing drivers will go through a series of gruelling battles against the very best to seize this coveted title.

Everyone's chance to realise their dreams

Beginning in 2018, and now entering its 7th year, Gran Turismo launched the GTWS as a virtual motorsport competition in which anyone in the world can participate. Players who have fought online but don't know each other's real names, often speaking different languages, meet face-to-face and become rivals and friends on their path to glory.

At the base of all this is their love for motorsports and 'Gran Turismo.'

Joining the GTWS as a fan and a user, the players have fully utilised their immense racing experience, effort, and determination to nurture their skills and are now in the spotlight as the top-ranked athletes of the world.

One example is Igor Fraga, who became the champion in the inaugural year of the championships, and used that exposure to grab the chance to race in the real world of motorsports. The Brazilian competed in a full season of the Japanese Super GT touring car championship in 2023. Utilising his experience from both Esports and real-world motorsports, he will be one of the representative drivers from the Americas Region in the Manufacturers Cup.

Another driver is Spanish ace Coque López. López, who has made it to a podium finish in 2021, 2022 and 2023, will be aiming for his third straight Nations Cup title. Despite his jovial nature, when it comes to racing he is as competitive as anyone on the track and he is renowned for his speed, consistency, and racecraft. This year he is also competing in the Manufacturers Cup as a representative from the Europe/Middle East/Africa Region.

One more is Takuma Miyazono from Japan, who has the unique honour of lifting both championship titles in a single season in 2020. A keen Gran Turismo player since he was four years old, he now balances his professional Esports career with working in real-world tyre development for a major Japanese manufacturer. He will be aiming for glory in the Nations Cup once again as he competes this year in the Nations Cup as a representative from the Asia-Oceania Region.

The world's top drivers will look to pursue their dreams once more in the GTWS.

Two championships

Manufacturers Cup

The world's best automotive manufacturers compete for glory

This global live event features two race tournaments. The first of these is the ‘Manufacturers Cup’ for international manufacturer teams. Of the 27 manufacturers that compete in the GTWS, 12 manufacturers (including official partners Toyota, Genesis, and Mazda) have progressed from the Online Qualifiers. Typically a team competition, the format has been updated for 2024. For Rounds 1-3, each manufacturer will now be represented by their highest-ranked driver from the region where the live event is hosted. For the World Finals, the drivers from all three Regions will be united to compete as a team.

Nations Cup

12 of the world's best compete for national pride

The other is the ‘Nations Cup,’ a competition where drivers represent their home country or territory. 12 drivers from the Online Qualifiers including five from the Europe/Middle East/Africa Region, two from the North America Region, two from the Central & South America Region, two from the Asia Region and one from the Oceania Region, will compete. Unlike the Manufacturers Cup where the competing drivers will change depending on the hosting Region of the World Series Round, all four live events will be contested by the same drivers.

Featuring the world's elite

A select group of players from around the world will compete in the GTWS. After progressing through the ultra-competitive Online Qualifiers at the top of their groups, these players will now meet face-to-face to compete at live events in a variety of exotic locations. These players come from all backgrounds and ages including students, designers, company employees and even pro-racing drivers who compete in real motorsports. At the GTWS, these players come together through 'Gran Turismo 7' to form friendships through the power of racing. Enjoy all the drama as their hard work comes to fruition when the chequered flag is waved.

World Series 2024 Rd.1 - Montreal Driver Lineup
https://www.gran-turismo.com/world/gt7/events/gtws2024/montreal/competitors/

Cars

At the GTWS, two types of cars will be used. Both meet the rules of Gran Turismo 7.

Gr.3 Cars (Group 3 Cars)

Cars in this category consist of race cars based on regular road cars, and this is the category that will be used in the final race of the Manufacturers Cup. These cars use a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) drivetrain and are designed to weigh between 1200 kg and 1300 kg with between 500 and 600 horsepower, making them surprisingly powerful and lightweight compared to regular road cars. They are also equipped with various aero parts such as large rear wings that provide powerful downforce (the force that pushes the car into the track surface) making them far more agile than road cars. You may find that a model you would typically see being driven on the road is competing as a racing car! Look out for one of your favourites!

X2019 Competition

The X2019 Competition is a single-seater, futuristic race car that was born from a fan car project between Red Bull Racing and Gran Turismo. Belonging to the Group X category (extreme vehicles that do not fit in any existing race category), this car will be used in the final race of the Nations Cup. This model has been modified specially for the Gran Turismo World Series to provide closer racing and enable drivers to display their true ability. A high-performance car that weighs just 650 kg with 800 engine horsepower, the X2019 is an absolute monster of a machine which requires talented drivers to tame it.

Tracks

The tracks serving as the stage for these races will be made up of two types. There are real-world circuits such as ‘Suzuka’ and ‘Spa-Francorchamps,’ very familiar to fans of motorsport. If you watch a lot of real-life races, then you will probably already recognise some of the tracks that appear during the event.

Then there are the ‘Gran Turismo 7’ original tracks. These are completely original circuits from fictitious locations that include multiple layouts. The main difference to real-world circuits is that the width of the track has been expanded in the original tracks, allowing for more head-to-head battles in races.

Things to look out for (Race tactics)

Winning isn't just about being the fastest. It's also about strategy and selecting the right time during the race to overtake your rival. In this section, we look at different overtakes and the techniques that you might see employed by drivers during a race.

Overtaking on the track

Slipstream overtakes
One of the most thrilling aspects of car racing and the most popular method of overtaking, 'slipstreaming' involves getting close to the car in front to benefit from a reduction in air drag and gain speed. It is also known as 'towing' or 'drafting.' Keep an eye out for it, especially on long straights where it is often used.

Braking battle overtake
This is a highly difficult overtaking manoeuvre and a display of a driver’s true skills. This technique involves braking later so that you go into the corner ahead of your rival. This technique is very effective on corners that require hard braking from high speeds, so it makes for an exciting move. As the car will fail to decelerate enough in time if the braking timing is even slightly wrong, the driver needs immense courage and good braking technique to pull this move off.

Overtaking at the corner exit
This manoeuvre involves taking a driving line to increase the exit speed out of the corner to overtake. The driver switches lines and attempts to be at full throttle as early as possible to bring the car out ahead of the rival car. This technique is most effective on corners which have a long straight at the exit and is also known as ‘cross-lining’ because the driving lines of the rival car and your car cross over.

Overtaking through pit stop strategies

Overtaking rivals through pit stop strategies is a key tactic used in long races. Drivers must give careful consideration to the most optimal pit stop timing to ensure they will return to the track in front of their rivals. Drivers must compare and consider the race pace and gap between themselves and their rivals, sometimes pushing ahead, sometimes looking to maintain tyres and balance fuel consumption and power appropriately, to ensure they make any pit stops at the optimal time.

In a real race, this is a decision that would be made by the race team, but in the GTWS it’s a judgment call that the drivers must make themselves.

Also, the pit stop strategy used can vary from driver to driver.

In the early stages of a race, a driver may choose to save tyres by driving carefully and delaying any stops until the latter stages of the race, then use their softer tyres to catch up quickly and ignite the crowd for an electrifying finish. Conversely, some drivers may look to increase the pace from the beginning to create a gap so that they have plenty of time to pit in and then skilfully block their rivals in the latter stages of the race to win. Pit stop strategies and race moments like these have captivated audiences in numerous races in past GTWS competitions.

Who and at what stage a pit stop is made can decide a race, so be sure to keep an eye out during the race for these strategies.

Control your tyres, control the race

At the GTWS, racing cars can use five different tyre compounds. Three of these tyres are used in dry weather (Soft, Medium, and Hard), while the other two are for wet conditions (Intermediate, and Heavy Wet). Soft tyres have the most grip out of the dry tyres (followed by Medium and then Hard) so they are the fastest, but the softer the tyre the quicker it will degrade, which also means a drop in its performance.

Dry Tyres
Soft (S): Fast but degrade quickly
Medium (M): Good balance of speed and durability
Hard (H): Durable but slow

That being said, the rate at which tyres degrade is not the same for everyone. Tyre tread wear will differ depending on the characteristics of the car or the driving style used by the driver. Drivers who drive smoothly and avoid placing unnecessary stress on their tyres will experience less tyre wear and as a result, their tyres will last longer. It’s not uncommon for tyre usage to have an impact on the outcome of a race, especially during the latter stage, so keep an eye out for which tyres a driver chooses.

Wet Tyres
Intermediate (IM): Used in light rain
Heavy Wet (W): Used in heavy rain

Fuel efficiency or power?

In long races, one thing a driver must consider as much, or even more than tyre management is fuel management.

Gran Turismo 7 features a function known as 'Fuel Map.' With the Fuel Map drivers can adjust the concentration of fuel going to the engine during a race through six different power settings. Setting this meter to 'Power Level 1' will give the most power, whereas adjusting the number towards 'Lean' (higher numbers) will reduce engine output in exchange for improved fuel consumption.

Drivers can also employ real-life driving techniques to improve fuel efficiency such as short shifting to avoid raising the engine RPM too much, lifting off the throttle to let the car coast under its momentum, and slipstreaming to use the car in front to reduce air resistance. Especially in races with long straights, drivers face the difficult choice of going for all-out power or being strategic and saving vital fuel. Keep an eye out and see if you can spot these strategies in play during a race.

Faster than real races? Tyre wear & fuel consumption rates

A unique element of the GTWS is tyre wear and fuel consumption rates. These signify the speed at which tyres will degrade and fuel will deplete in a race. For example, a race set to '5x' and '2x' would mean that tyres will wear five times faster and fuel will be consumed twice as fast as it would in real life.

In most cases, the wear/consumption rates are set to be faster than in real life, meaning that drivers must be highly skilled to cope with the continuously changing tyre conditions while also keeping a keen eye on their Fuel Map during a race.

Race penalty system

Though the GTWS is held in a virtual environment, the rules are very much real, and drivers must respect each other on the track. To maintain fairness and competitive racing, our global live events employ race stewards who carefully watch over the races and make judgements.

Infractions such as deliberately knocking an opponent off the track or persistently blocking another driver are considered unsportsmanlike conduct and will incur an instant penalty, while collision infractions are reviewed using replay footage and dealt with after careful consideration. Penalties are typically issued in the form of a time penalty and there is a section on the track in each race where the cars will automatically slow down to clear such a penalty. An icon will be displayed above the car that has incurred the penalty and it will turn invisible until the penalty is cleared to ensure passing drivers are not blocked or hindered. It’s this combination of people (race stewards) and virtual systems that make exciting next-level races possible, never seen in any real motorsport event.

Full commentary!

All the action from the GTWS will be provided with live commentary and analysis. Not only will the Grand Final races for the Nations Cup and Manufacturers Cup be broadcast live, but we will also be showing the qualifying sessions that determine the grid for each respective competition’s Grand Final. These Grand Final races will also be contested with different regulations than the qualifying session, which should make for some dramatic action.

Please see the following Special Page for the full event schedule. As mentioned, the event will be broadcast live, but all the action can be watched again at any time from our archive section at a later stage.

'World Series 2024 Rd.1-Montreal' Special Page
https://www.gran-turismo.com/world/gt7/events/gtws2024/montreal/